Pastor’s Blog

As a young Christian I remember being challenged by the statement that ‘God has no grandchildren.’ By that it was meant that we all had to make the decision to follow Jesus for ourselves. Having Christian parents, although helpful, was no guarantee of our own salvation. I think that it was in the same sermon that I was challenged by the fact that we may not all have the gift of evangelism, but we are all witnesses.

This week I met a lovely young Muslim guy. I offered him a coffee and a biscuit. He declined the biscuit because it was Ramadan and he was fasting. He did however accept the coffee as he was travelling and therefore allowed to drink. I was struck by his devotion and earnestness. We Christians have a lot to learn about how seriously we take the things that we say we believe. In the course of our conversation he told me about the church in the town where he grew up, of how he loved the youth group, and of how welcoming and accepting of him that they were. He then went on to explain how much he respected Christians, real Christians, people that cared enough to show love and work for their community.

Matthew 5:15 tells us not to hide our lights under a basket, but to let it shine. One of the most effective ways that I know of letting our lights shine is by showing love and kindness to our neighbours. They are the people who we don’t choose, but live and work beside us. I became a Christian because a family showed me kindness, and then introduced me to the best gift ever, Jesus.